1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a propulsion system for use as a means of propulsion to propel a vehicle, or for use as a vehicle, in liquid or gas fluid, and more particularly relates to a propulsion system having a rotor (or other known device) confined in (or around) a funnel-shaped conduit that is configured to produce a lift force by combining thrust from the rotor with the lift force created by drawing fluid into the funnel-shaped conduit, and, optionally, across an airfoil-shaped wing, whereby movement can be executed vertically or horizontally.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While air transportation has become ever more popular, neither conventional airplanes nor helicopters are usable in all situations.
Helicopters are difficult to control, especially in windy conditions, and are particularly vulnerable to accidents or crashes at landing or during take off. They are limited in speed, due to their inherent design.
Conventional airplanes are not highly maneuverable. They cannot stop in mid-air; neither can they turn quickly in any direction. Conventional airplanes are inappropriate for use as personal transport devices, such as might be used by one or two passengers to travel to work. As they require a runway to take off and to land, they are generally unsuitable for use in congested or heavily populated regions, in inner cities or industrial areas, in storm or emergency damage surveys, in rugged or forested terrain, or in other unimproved environments.
Additionally, conventional airplanes cannot hover to provide a stable, yet rotatable platform, such as would be desirable for filming, for holding monitoring or scientific equipment in position, or for supporting weapons in a manner in which the weapons could be aimed and fired in any direction.
Moreover, conventional airplanes present safety concerns. If power is lost, a conventional aircraft will have trouble landing safely. Also, any impact will generally result in a crash. Conventional airplanes also can go into a stall, whereupon the controls are ineffective and accidents are prevalent.
Further, conventionally available or proposed disc-shaped flying aircraft, such as a flying car, are inherently unstable and inefficient. This is because disc-shaped flying aircraft using only a ducted fan to produce lift force can only produce force due to Newton's third law, which is inefficient in this application. The present invention solves this problem by attaching a funnel on it, which can give additional 70% or more thrust due to the Bernoulli's effect (FIG. 7) in tests (FIG. 5, FIG. 6).
The present invention advantageously provides safer air travel and provides a system whereby, in the event of a loss of power, the aircraft would be configured to float down safely through the air from a height—due to air resistance reducing the velocity of its fall, in a similar manner to a parachute. Furthermore, the present invention provides a system whereby minor or no damage would be sustained during a low speed collision.
The current invention can be applied both to underwater travel and to water surface travel.
In the area of underwater movement of persons or materials, submarines are typically used. The steam-powered, diesel-powered, electric-powered, or nuclear-powered engine conventionally drives a propeller that moves the submarine through the water by pushing against the water and creating a forward force. To keep the long cigar-shaped submarine level both on the surface of the ocean plus at any depth, presents problems. A complex system using hydroplanes and various air and water tanks is employed to keep the submarine level both while it is stationary and while it is traveling through the water. The present invention allows underwater transport in a less complex and more stable vehicle. Newton's laws of motion consist of three physical laws that form the basis for classical mechanics. They describe the relationship between the forces acting on a body and its motion due to those forces. They have been expressed in several different ways over nearly three centuries, and can be summarized as follows:                1. First law: Every body remains in a state of rest or uniform motion (constant velocity) unless it is acted upon by an external unbalanced force. This means that in the absence of a non-zero net force, the center of mass of a body either remains at rest, or moves at a constant speed in a straight line.        2. Second law: A body of mass m subject to a force F undergoes an acceleration a that has the same direction as the force and a magnitude that is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass, i.e., F=ma. Alternatively, the total force applied on a body is equal to the time derivative of linear momentum of the body.        3. Third law: The mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear. This means that whenever a first body exerts a force F on a second body, the second body exerts a force −F on the first body. F and −F are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. This law is sometimes referred to as the action-reaction law, with F called the “action” and −F the “reaction”. The action and the reaction are simultaneous.        
Respective to Newton's laws, the energy required to propel a watercraft must overcome two different resistance forces, specifically wave resistance and friction resistance.
Resistance imposed by the water affects vessel propulsion through water. This resistance can be broken down into several components, the main ones being (1) the friction of the water on the hull and (2) wave making resistance. To reduce resistance and therefore increase the speed for a given power, it is necessary to overcome both of these key contributors to the resistance. The first known means to reduce frictional resistance is to reduce the wetted surface of the hull. The second known means is to and use submerged hull shapes that produce low amplitude waves, such as a bulbous bow. Examples of effective hull designs are high-speed vessels that are often more slender, with fewer or smaller appendages.
A simple way of considering wave-making resistance is to look at the hull in relation to its wake. At speeds lower than the wave propagation speed, the wave rapidly dissipates to the sides. As the hull approaches the wave propagation speed, however, the wake at the bow begins to build up faster than it can dissipate, and so it grows in amplitude. Since the water is not able to “get out of the way of the hull fast enough”, the hull, in essence, has to climb over or push through the bow wave. This results in an exponential increase in resistance with increasing speed.
Wave making resistance is a form of drag that affects surface watercraft, such as boats and ships, and reflects the energy required to push the water out of the way of the hull. This energy goes into creating the wake. For small displacement hulls, such as sailboats or rowboats, wave-making resistance is the major source of drag. The unique properties of deepwater waves (where the water depth is deeper than half the wavelength) mean that the wave making resistance is very dependent upon the hull's interaction with the wake. Reducing the displacement of the craft, by eliminating excess weight, is the most straightforward way to reduce the wave making drag. Another way is to shape the hull so as to generate lift as it moves through the water. Semi-displacement hulls and planing hulls do this, and they are able to break through the hull speed barrier and transition into a realm where drag increases at a much lower rate. The downside of this is that planing is only practical on smaller vessels, with high power to weight ratios, such as motorboats. It is not a practical solution for a large vessel such as a supertanker.
Another problem in water transport systems is inertial cavitation, such as may occur behind the blade of a rapidly rotating propeller due to collapsing voids or bubbles and may cause damage to components, vibrations, noise, and a loss of efficiency. The present invention eliminates cavitation problems.
Additionally, the present invention provides a personal underwater transport system for divers that would increase safety while being easy to operate and maneuver.
Further, the present invention can be connected to either air or water vehicles to increase force and to increase safety. Thus the present invention can also be applied to water surface travel, such as, for example, applications to conventional boats and ships.
Accordingly, there is an established need for a fluid dynamically efficient propulsion system, as herein presented, that improves safety and maneuverability in any fluid—in air, providing hovering flight with a stable, rotatable platform and providing vertical takeoff and landing; and in water, providing an easy to level, control, and operate vehicle.